


My Roommate Is A Mermaid?!

by peridoll



Series: Lapidot AU Week [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Mermaid Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 00:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15570135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peridoll/pseuds/peridoll
Summary: Lapidot Week Prompt 1; Mermaids. Peridot has a weird roommate with a big secret. Oh, and she's really really cute.





	My Roommate Is A Mermaid?!

**Author's Note:**

> I figured it'd be fun to take part in the Lapidot AU Week! This is just a super short oneshot but I had fun writing it. I have some other ideas for the other prompts, too, though I probably won't do all of them. This is totally just self-indulgence, I love writing Lapis so I was STOKED about this week. Enjoy!

Peridot’s new roommate wasn’t exactly… normal. She was, to say it shortly,  _ weird _ . A week into the school year, she came home to their shared apartment on campus and found the girl surrounded by a mountain of rocks, organizing them into smaller hills. When questioned about it, she replied with a snotty “It’s my collection, idiot”, and went about her business. Peridot let it go.

One night, Peridot was awoken by a loud bang and shot out of bed. It was her roommate, installing a large, rectangular fish tank into the side of their living room. At 2 in the morning. The day before Peridot had a grade-dependent test. 

She nearly failed that test.

But her new roommate wasn’t all bad, she supposed. They sat together after classes on the couch and watched scary movies together. They ate lunch together, shared funny stories, bonded over common interests… Lapis even let Peridot name a few of her fish. 

Sometimes, though, Peridot would find her roommate naked in the kitchenette, which left her flustered and confused. Lapis was weird, but she was  _ cute _ . While sitting on the couch together, she would sit too close, warmth radiating from her like a personal heater. She would insist on playing with Peridot’s hair, or make the overworked student a cup of tea. Their hands would linger, fingers brushing against each other’s skin, as Lapis passed her the mug. Tiny intimate moments always left Peridot hungry for more. But that was something she would never admit.

Minus all of the weird shit she did, Lapis wasn’t a terrible roommate. Peridot had seen much worse. 

It all came to fruition when one day Lapis approached Peridot, already settled into bed with her earbuds and laptop. She knocked on her partially cracked door, peeking her head inside.

“Hey,” Lapis greeted, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “Can I tell you something?”

Begrudgingly, Peridot moved her laptop to the side and popped one earbud out as her roommate tiptoed her way over, plopping onto the end of her bed. “Yeah, I guess I can’t stop you,” she snorted, kicking the blanket off to sit cross-legged.

Lapis mimicked her, though she did it with a certain flexibility and grace that came from being a trained dancer. “Okay, this is gonna sound crazy…”

“Everything that comes out of your mouth is crazy, Lapis,” Peridot interjected, eliciting a chuckle of agreement from her roommate. “Hurry up, I have to write a paper.”

Lapis leaned in, eyes flitting around the room for a moment before resting on Peridot. “I have a secret. You have to promise not to tell anybody. Or else.” The girl held out a pinkie, her black nail polish chipped. 

Suspicious, Peridot wrapped her own pinkie around her roommate’s, and they shook on it. “Or else what? Please don’t tell me you killed someone.” 

“No no,” Lapis reassured, scooting closer to Peridot. “Nothing like that. But it is a big secret.” Something about the way her roommate lowered her voice, cupped a hand over her mouth, made Peridot’s stomach twist in a knot. Ideas formed in her mind, about what Lapis’s secret could be. Was she a Russian spy? Wanted by the government?  _ Did  _ she murder someone? Lapis lived for the drama, so she waited and waited, leaving them in silence, to spill her big secret.

“I… Peridot, I’m…” She twiddled her thumbs, chewing on her bottom lip, then took a deep breath in; “I’m a mermaid.”

Peridot’s face dropped. She stared for what felt like an hour, then scrunched her eyebrows together. Unsure of how to respond, she laughed, scratching at her cheek. “That’s cool, Lapis. Now can you go? I seriously have to write this paper.”

Relieved, Lapis bounced off the bed and danced her way to the door. “So you won’t tell anyone, right? You pinky promised.” 

Rolling her eyes, Peridot shrugged. “I dunno, that’s a pretty  _ unbelievable _ secret, Lapis. I just might have to tell everyone.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm, though upon seeing the devastated look upon Lapis’s face, she mimed zipping her lips together with her fingers. “Don’t worry, nobody will find out.”

Giving her roommate two thumbs up, Lapis rushed out of the room. Once she left, Peridot hung her head in her hands and rubbed her temples. ‘ _ What a fucking weirdo _ .’ 

 

“Hey Lapis,” Peridot called, poking her head into her roommate’s room. “I’m gonna go to a free yoga class, wanna come?” Her roommate perched on her computer chair, legs all tangled up underneath her like a nesting bird. The girl had just gotten her hair done, dyed a deep cobalt blue and shaved in the back. She kept the top long enough to style, framing her narrow face. 

“Nah, I’m not a fan of yoga.” She stood anyway, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. “But if you don’t wanna walk there alone, I’ll come with and go for a swim.” She winked, and Peridot flushed. Medals and pictures of her as a kid decorated Lapis’s room. Her lithe body reflected her interests; she was active, the complete opposite of Peridot’s tummy pudge and thick thighs. 

It was late, almost 6:30 at that point. Snow blanketed the ground, and the city was experiencing record-breaking cold weather for the early month of November. But Lapis insisted on wearing her PJs, a tank top and a pair of silk shorts, to the campus fitness center. Peridot forced a sweatshirt into her arms and scolded her to wear it, which she did with a contagious laugh. 

On the walk over, they fought blustering winds, snowflakes dotting the night sky, and while Peridot buried her nose into her warm scarf, fluffy hood pulled over her wrapped head, Lapis never even blinked.

“You’re really not cold? Are you sure you’re not sick or something?” Peridot yelled over the wind, bumping against her roommate on accident as her boot slipped on the slick sidewalk. Lapis caught her arm, steadying her again. Even in the cold, Peridot’s cheeks burned.

“No. Really, I’m fine,” Lapis reassured, hooking an arm on Peridot’s. Walking arm in arm, they traversed the college campus, through dorm clearings and the gym parking lot. At last, they made it inside the toasty building, and Peridot stripped her coat off.

“Ah, thank god! My ass is cold,” Peridot sighed, standing by the radiator and holding out her frozen fingers. 

“Is it?” Lapis snorted, unzipping her sweatshirt as well and drying her legs beside Peridot. “Alright, well, once you’re done with your yoga, let me know. I’ll be in the pool.” Lapis jogged away, waving at Peridot before disappearing through the pool door. Peridot stared after her, then tore herself away and wandered off to her yoga class.

 

Feeling thoroughly relaxed, Peridot exited the studio with a fellow student, chatting with her until they reached the pool doors. She shot the other student a “see you next week!”, before turning her attention to the dark room. The lights were dim, only a couple spotlights shining down on the pool. A head bobbed in the water.

Peridot swung open the door, gazing out over the balcony. A wide, slanted walkway led down to the tiled pool area. It was a massive pool, where they held competitions and practices. “Hey, Lapis!” Peridot shouted, her voice echoing through the massive space. The head vanished beneath the water, and a frilly tail flipped into the air. Peridot rubbed her tired eyes. She hurried down the walkway, just in time to catch a reflective, scaled body swim deeper into the water, shielded by the darkness. 

The smell of chlorine invaded Peridot’s nostrils as she inched closer to the edge of the pool. “Lapis…?” 

A hand suddenly shot out of the water, lunging far enough to grab the front of Peridot’s t-shirt, and dragged her face first into the water. She scrambled frantically under the water, before arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her to the surface. She sputtered, coughing up water she had swallowed.

“Jeez, calm down. What, did you think I’d let you drown?” A voice soothed beside her clogged ear. Peridot squirmed, straining to look at the girl’s face. She nearly fainted, felt all the blood rush from her cold body. 

“Lapis, you…” she started, but couldn’t find the words to finish. Her roommate hoisted her onto the edge of the pool to sit, drenched and miserable. Her headscarf had untied itself in the water and floated a few feet away.

“I already told you, don’t look so shocked.” Lapis swam, her long, vibrant blue mermaid tail wiggling, to grab the scarf, wringing it out and handing it back with a cheeky smile. “What, did you think I was joking?”

“Uh, yeah! I kinda did! Cuz you don’t go up to someone and say ‘hey, I’m a mermaid!’ Mermaids aren’t real!” Peridot slicked her wet blonde hair back, snatching her pale green silk headscarf. 

Lapis rest her elbows on the poolside, droplets of water dripping down her face. She glowed under the dim lights, shimmered even, like the scales lining her body. “So you’re saying I’m not real?” She pouted her puffy lips, and Peridot blushed.

“I mean- I guess-  _ fuck _ , Lapis. How does any of this make sense?!” Peridot threw her hands up, then peeled her soaked shirt from her arms. Her socks squelched in her boots, making her cringe. “Why did you pull me in?! I’m fully clothed!”

“I know,” Lapis giggled, leaning in closer. “I wanted to see your reaction.”

“Well, here it is! I’m wet and mad!” 

“You know,” Lapis’s finger trailed up to Peridot’s knee, where she rested her hand. “They say mermaids have magical kisses.”

“What?! That’s so we-” Lapis boosted herself up using her nimble yet muscular arms, pressing a damp kiss to Peridot’s lips to silence her. It silenced her quickly. 

“You’re welcome, now you can say you’ve been kissed by a mermaid.” 

Face on fire, and thankful it was dark enough to hide it, Peridot stifled a laugh. “You’re… you’re like… a real mermaid. Like, no joke!” 

Lapis’s intense blue eyes rolled, and she huffed. “Alright, get over it. It’s not a big deal. There’s weird shit all over the world, and you think your roommate being a mermaid is the worst of the worst? C’mon, take a look at the news for once!”

Peridot looped her arms around her roommate’s shoulders, her lips lingering temptingly close. She tilted her head just the slightest, getting lost in the woman’s gaze. “It’s… really weird. But… I kinda... like weird.” Their lips met again, and despite her sopping feet, pruney fingertips, and waterlogged hair, it wasn’t a bad kiss. Lapis wasn’t a terrible roommate.


End file.
